The Cardinals and left-handed reliever J.C. Romero are close to agreeing on a one-year deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.

The 35-year-old Romero, who has spent parts of 13 seasons in the Majors, combined to go 1-0 with a 4.01 ERA last season with the Phillies and Rockies.

After appearing in 31 games as a reliever and starter with the Twins from 1999-2001, Romero broke in with the club in 2002 as a reliever, the only role he has pitched in since. He pitched three full seasons for the Phillies from 2008-10, posting a 3.04 ERA in 162 games in that span.

Cash Kruth

Another morning and afternoon passed Tuesday with no moves made as the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline nears.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of chatter and, of course, most of it involved center fielders Carlos Beltran and B.J. Upton.

* Beginning with Beltran, one scout thinks the winner will end up overpaying for the two-month rental. The most likely to do so? According to the same scout, it’s the Giants.

* Although Beltran would prefer to stay in the National League, the Mets’ best offer appears to becoming from the reigning AL champs.

* The Giants, in dire need of offense, are being linked to Beltran and Upton. Although San Francisco is the above scout’s guess to land Beltran, the Giants are also talking to the Rays about Upton.

* As noted in this space earlier, multiple reports have the Cardinals, Reds, Pirates, Royals, Nationals and Braves as teams interested in Upton. And although no one knows for sure if the Rays will deal Upton, it appears the chances of them trading right-hander James Shields are nil. Right-handers Neff Niemann and Wade Davis could be available, however, according to CBSSports.com.

* While the Shields trade talks are all but dead, the Rockies are still listening to offers for right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez.

* As written earlier, the Tigers are still looking for a starter. And even though Minnesota entered play Tuesday seven games back of Detroit and in fourth place in the AL Central, the Twins are apparently going to go for it — as of now.

Other posts of interest in this space you might have missed earlier today:

* With only one left-hander in their bullpen, the Yankees are looking for lefty help.

* The Braves are still looking to bolster their club, with a pair of Blue Jays relievers being possible targets.

* Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena is likely to be dealt.

- Cash Kruth